NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF STRESSES AT OBLIQUE HOLES IN PLATES SUBJECTED TO TENSION AND BENDING

Stress analysis of a series of thick, wide, flat plates with oblique holes subjected to uniaxial tension and out-of-plane bending has been carried out using the finite element method (FEM), and in some cases the boundary element method (BEM). Different plate thickness-hole diameter ratios, angles of hole obliquity and orientation have been considered to provide stress concentration factors at such holes. The work covers plate thickness-hole diameter ratios from 1.3 to 3.0, hole obliquity angles from 0 to 60 " and orientation of the major axis of the surface ellipse relative to the applied load direction of 0 to 90". The results for uniaxial tension have been compared with those determined using the photoelastic frozen-stress technique in order to verify the finite element models before proceeding to the bending cases, which provide new data. K e y words: stress analysis, oblique holes in plates, uniaxial tension, out-of-plane bending, finite element method, boundary element method